Why doesn't God stop all the suffering? Photo by www.freedigitalphotos.net By Colin Webster This is the hardest question for any Christian to answer. On the one hand the Bible clearly teaches that God is love (1 John 4:8); on the other hand the suffering that we see around us and perhaps even experience at a personal level seems so contradictory to our understanding of that love. It will therefore come as no surprise to know there are no easy answers to this question. I speak as someone who has experienced the pain of watching my father die at 64 of cancer on the very same day that my brother was left quadriplegic after an auto accident. Suffering is no stranger to any one of us, but I believe the Bible gives us both an explanation and also a hope for all of us to take on board. Suffering and faith Far from what many may think, suffering is not an automatic barrier to belief in God. The Bible is full of people who endured tremendous misery and yet their faith remained firm. The Israelites, for instance, suffered terrible slavery under Pharaoh
(Exodus 1:8-14); the Old Testament prophets suffered persecution at the hands of their own countrymen (Jeremiah 26:16); and the early Christian believers suffered imprisonment and death for their faith under Emperor Nero. Yet these people did not give up their faith in God (2 Corinthians 11:23). Suffering can often strengthen a person s faith, not weaken it! In fact many people have turned to God at the darkest moments of their lives and found him to be there. Sometimes it is only at our darkest times, when no one else can help, that we cry out to God. As C. S. Lewis once said, Pain is God s megaphone to a deaf world. Suffering as a direct and indirect consequence of wrong human choices Much of the suffering in the world today is a direct consequence of personal human choices. The person who injures himself permanently in a car accident because he was over the legal limit of alcohol has to suffer the consequences of his wrong choices. Then there are those who suffer innocently as a result of other peoples wrong choices. Wars for example stem from a human leaders greed for power, money or land. The atrocities which we have seen in Hitler s concentration camps or the Bosnian wars or the tribal massacres of Rwanda show not only the utter depths of depravity that some people will stoop to, but also the profound effect that wrong choices can have on the lives of others for generations. Such causes of suffering accounts for the vast majority of pain and misery that we see in our world today.
But what about Disease and Disasters? I appreciate that there will be some reading this who will think Ok, but what about innocent people killed by natural disasters and disease! How do you account for that? I agree that these are the hardest forms of suffering for a Christian to explain, but we must remember that Christians have never been immune to losing loved ones through disease or disasters either. I have attended the funerals of Christians who died in their 20 s through disease as well as those who lived to a ripe old age. In fact the vast majority of us will die because of a disease of some kind, whether it be cancer or pneumonia. Our bodies are simply not capable of living much beyond 100. So technically speaking, all of us are in the process of dying right now! Ageing is a form of decay which leads to death. Undoubtedly, natural disasters and disease do rob people prematurely of living life to an elderly age of 80 or 90 years. But even if every person in the world lived to be 90 and then dropped down dead without ever having experienced a disease or a disaster we would still not have lived for as long as God would want us to. For his intention is that we live and enjoy life with him forever without any decay or disease or disaster. That s God s ultimate desire for those who put their trust in him. Jesus himself never said that we would be immune to pain or suffering in this life just because we followed him. But he did say that in the world to come, when He returns, the curse of this current fallen world will no longer have its hold upon us. Those who have trusted in him will be given a new glorified body (just as Jesus had when he was resurrected) which will not be susceptible to decay or death as our bodies are now. What is more, the curse placed on this fallen world will be removed and there will be no disasters. Suffering will end and along with it pain, death and ageing. I would like to move on to some misconceptions people may have about suffering:
Suffering does not mean that God no longer loves us It was Oscar Wilde who said, There is enough suffering in any lane in London to prove that a good God does not govern the world. Wilde s observation of the suffering that surrounded him led to a conclusion about God which was this: if God cannot stop the suffering then he is not an all powerful God and if He will not stop the suffering then he is not a very caring God. The observation that Oscar Wilde made led him to a wrong conclusion about God. God does love the world and he takes no pleasure in seeing anyone suffer. If anyone ever doubted God s love then they need to look at the cross of Jesus. On the cross God gave his Son Jesus to die and take the punishment that our rebellion against Gods laws rightfully demanded. Jesus willingly gave up his life for those who had rejected God. The Bible tells us that God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8). "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16). So the Bible clearly states that God does love the world, and we should never doubt God s love even if we don t always understand God s ways. If God did not love us, then he certainly would not have sent Jesus to rescue us from the consequences of our sin. God is not distant from our suffering Why does God appear to stand at a distance when we suffer? To answer this question we need to look again at Jesus. In Jesus we see a God who enters our broken world. Jesus is described by the angels as God with us. Jesus isn t standing on the sidelines as a spectator he s joined us on the pitch. Jesus entered our fallen world and entered fully into all that it means to be human. He was not immune to the pain and
grief that we ourselves experience; instead he suffered like us and even endured greater pain than any of us could ever know. He knew what it felt like to be destitute and homeless, he knew what it was like to be despised and rejected by people, he knew the heartache of losing someone close to him and he knew the loneliness of losing his best friends. He experienced injustice which ultimately led to physical pain as he bled and died on the cross. God did not spare his Son any of those agonies that we ourselves face. In Christ, God entered into a pain that was alien to everything that he stands for, a pain that human beings had caused by their rebellion. God never stood at a distance when he sent Jesus, he rubbed shoulders with us! For generations Christians throughout the world have experienced something of the peace, presence and comfort of the Lord in their times of pain and suffering. Often I hear believers speaking of having sensed a deep inner calm that God was still in control and standing with them through their trials. I firmly believe that God is not distant; he is present in our suffering even if he does not always remove the sufferings that we experience (for Christians are not immune from suffering just because they know and love God). So why won't God stop all the suffering and evil now? People don t realise the consequences of asking God to stop all the suffering. For one thing, our standard of gauging evil is different from God s because God is holy and we are not. The Bible tells us that one day God will end all evil and suffering in the world. The only thing is this it will be all the evil and suffering, and not just the selective evils that bother us. For example, many people have an idea of what they would regard as evil, such as murder, rape and theft. But have you ever stopped to consider what God regards as
being evil or sinful? What about being greedy, speaking behind someone s back, having lustful thoughts, being selfish, sleeping around, getting drunk, telling lies, holding a grudge against someone, failing to live as God created us to live? Those may all sound like minor things to you, but to a holy God those things are offensive to his nature and character. In fact each of these above mentioned acts are evil in God s sight and stand in complete opposition to his holiness. So, in order for God to remove all the suffering and evil in the world, He would first of all have to remove each and every one of us, because to varying degrees we all contribute to the problem of suffering. God will remove all the suffering and evil one day, but before that great day comes there is another day that must come before it: the day of judgement! This will be when Jesus shall return to judge the living and the dead. Few people are ready for that day because they are not in a right relationship with God and will, therefore, face his judgement for their wrongdoing. So it s in God s mercy that Jesus doesn t return sooner, for God s delay provides an opportunity for you to be put right with God. For God wants as many people to be saved as possible. You can be saved by trusting Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour, for he alone pays the penalty for our selfish rebellious acts against God s holiness. Suffering will end All of human history is leading up to Christ s return. At that point the old order of things (a reference to the current broken world in which we live with all its evil and suffering) will pass away and God will permanently establish his new order of things where there will be no more evil, suffering, or death, or even the capacity for such things to occur (Revelation 21). Those who will enjoy this eternally perfect world with
God will be those who have turned from their sin and rebellion against God and chosen to accept salvation through Jesus Christ. This is becoming a Christian. I remember hearing the sad story of a young Christian couple in America who lost their two year old daughter. On the gravestone of the little girl they had only two words inscribed after her name. The words were these: Yes Lord! I am sure that young couple s hearts were torn in two over the loss of their little girl. I am also certain that they asked the question, Why? Yet, despite the darkness their hearts were plunged into, they knew that one day an answer would be given and they would see everything from God s perspective. They still believed that God works all things together for the good of those who love him. (Romans 8:28) Even the tragedy of their daughter s short life will make sense one day. For now, they submitted to God s sovereignty in all matters - including the tragic ones. Their hope remained in God and one day that hope will not disappoint them. I trust that if you put your trust in Christ you will find that this couple s hope can be your hope too, just as it is mine. If you would like to talk further then contact Colin Webster at the Cornerstone Church Office (Cornerstone) or join a Christianity Explored Course where you can investigate the Christian faith further. Here is Steve Smith's personal account of faith through his disability of cerebral palsy http://www.cornerstoneuk.org.uk/investigate/changedlives/steve/ You might also like to read a talk given by John and Alison Risbridger (former members at Cornerstone church who are now in ministry in Southampton) who lost two of their own children when they were born. http://www.cornerstoneuk.org.uk/investigate/changedlives/alison/
http://www.cornerstoneuk.org.uk/investigate/changedlives/john/ Further reading: C. S. Lewis, The problem of pain (Fount 1997). C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (Fount 1997). Nicky Gumbel, Searching Issues (Kingsway 1995). David Watson, Is Anyone There? (Hodder & Stoughton1986). Stephen Gaukroger, It makes sense (Scripture Union 1988). John Blanchard, Does God believe in Atheists? (Evangelical Press 2000)